Reversible shirt dickey



N 1964 H. s. GALLAGHER REVERSIBLE SHIRT DICKEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 19, 1962 INVENTOR. HELEN S. GALLAGE'EER NOW 1964 H. s. GALLAGHER REVERSIBLE SHIRT DICKEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 19 FIG] FIG.6

INVENTOR. HELEN S. GALLAGHER BY MmRNEYs United States Patent 3,155,985 REVERSHELE SHIRT DICKEY Helen S. Gallagher, 21999 Parnell Road, Shaker Heights, Dhio Filed lune 19, 1%2, Ser. No. 203,545 2 tClairns. (@l. 2-415) This invention relates to the art of wearing apparel generally, and more particularly is directed to a shirt dickey which is reversible, thereby allowing the wearer to utilize both sides of the garment.

Entertainers, students, uniformed personnel and many others are required to wear a sweater or coat continuously. Under these conditions the only function served by a shirt worn thereunder is to trim the neck of the wearer and, in the latter case, portions of the chest. The use of a conventional shirt at all times is objectionable for a number of reasons which will hereinafter be discussed.

It is common practice for students away at boarding schools to send their laundry home in order to reduce expenditures. When conventional shirts are sent, they are bulky, thereby increasing the mailing costs, as well as requiring additional effort by the laundress to refresh the portions of the shirt which are not normally exposed. The dickey herein described obviates this objection since it comprises about one-half the bulk of the conventional shirt. It can be appreciated that a substantial saving in mailing costs and laundering time will be realized when one considers the frequency of mailing and laundering such apparel. Moreover, the absence of sleeves in the novel dickey will allow a sweater worn thereover to follow the contour of the wearer to present a neater appearance, while not adding to the warmth thereof. Additionally, the dickey herein disclosed is not in contact with those areas of the body which give off great amounts of perspiration; hence the dickey may be worn for prolonged periods.

Uniformed personnel are often required to wear a coat and tie even though the weather is uncomfortably warm. The conventional shirt adds to the warmth, while functionally serving only to trim the exposed neck and chest portions of the wearer. The novel dickey of the instant invention provides the necessary requisites to meet the dress requirements, while not adding to the discomfort of the wearer.

in the entertainment field where high intensity of light is required properly to display the entertainers, stage conditions are such that the temperatures thereon range up to around 190 F. It is obvious that the actor must present a neat, well dressed appearance, yet due regard should be given to his comfort while performing. The novel dickey of the instant invention, when utilized with a coat or sweater, presents the well dressed appearance of a conventional shirt while allowing minimization of clothing necessary to be worn without detracting from the appearance of the wearer.

People who travel extensively, often try to minimize the amount of spare clothing to be carried. It can be appreciated that the novel dickey of the instant invention, when compared to the conventional shirt, reduces the bulk to be carried by one-half. Further, since it is reversible, it in essence amounts to having two shirts in one.

it will be appreciated that the dickey herein disclosed will be easier to merchandise than a conventional shirt. The conventional shirt has two variable dimensions, the neck size and sleeve length. The dickey herein disclosed has only the neck size as a variable, thereby requiring less stock to be carried by a merchant to satisfy the needs of purchasers.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel shirt dickey.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a shirt dickey which is reversible, thereby allowing the wearer to utilize both sides of the garment.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a shirt dickey which will be economical to manufacture and easy to merchandise.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a shirt dickey which will be easily laundered and eX- pediently ironed.

Further and fuller objects will become readily apparent when reference is made to the accompanying drawin gs, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the novel dickey as modeled by a person;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the front of the dickey;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the dickey;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view with one of the panels folded over to show the novel button structure on the reverse side thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of the front panel and the yoke when the two are lying on a flat surface;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the panel carrying the facing; and

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 2, illustrating in detail the collar and manner of attachment to the shirt.

Referring now to FIG. 1, therein is shown a model wearing the dickey of the instant invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. It can be seen that the front panels 11 and 12 substantially cover the wearers chest and, due to their generous length, provide a portion which may be tucked into the trousers, as shown by the dotted lines at 13 and 14-. It will be retained in this position by use of a belt 15 or the close fit of the waist band of the trousers.

Referring now to FIG. 2, which is a front view of the dickey, it can be seen that it comprises front panels 11 and 12, as heretofore mentioned, and a yoke portion 16. The yoke portion may be supplemented by a back panel 17, or in the event such is desirable, the yoke 16 may be continuous and assume a form similar to that of the back panel 17.

The front panel 11 has a facing portion 18 which is provided with symmetrical stitching 19 and. 20 along the edges thereof. A plurality of buttonholes 21 are provided in the facing to receive buttons 22 complementary thereto and carried by the panel 12.

The panels are joined together at the upper portions by the yoke portion 16, thereby forming a neck opening 23. A collar 24 is attached to the yoke and the front panels about the opening through the use of suitable stitching 25. The yoke 16 generally comprises a double thickness of cloth; however, plasticized material, such as Pellon or the equivalent, may be substituted. Pellon is classed as a bonded fabric which in general may be made from different fibers or combinations thereof, such as wool, cotton, synthetics, etc. They are bonded together with an adhesive, such as a foam bonding agent. It is often used as interlining in book binding, shoes, clothing, etc. The collar 24 is also composed of a double thickness of cloth, the ends of which are rolled under prior to stitching, as shown at 25. This provides a trimmed appearance on the inside and outside of the collar portion, thereby making the collar reversible.

With particular reference to FIG. 4, the reversibility of my novel dickey will now be defined. Facing 18 is provided in a similar fashion on both sides of the garment. Such construction renders it virtually impossible to detect which way the shirt is buttoned, left panel over right or vice versa, since the facing is symmetrically stitched with the edges 31 and 32 free at their ends. It is obvious that if it is not desirable to make shirt reversible,

the facing may be omitted. However, in the embodiment illustrated and described above, a facing is provided on opposite sides of the garment.

Similarly, buttons 22 are provided on the front side of the garment as well as on the reverse side. If the buttons are fastened to each other, it is necessary to use a long shank button in order to facilitate easy buttoning of the garment as well as obtaining a smooth overlay when the garment is buttoned right panel over left.

If the collar is a button down collar, such as shown in the illustrated embodiment, button means 26 and 27 are provided on both sides, as was the case in the panel carrying the buttons. The same principle would apply with respect to button means 28 and the rear portion of the collar, if such is desirable. It thus can be seen that collar portion 24 Will be on the under side when the dickey is reversed, thereby presenting a new collar surface 30 and neckband 33 which will be fresh and unsoiled. The facing 18 serves to trim the front portion and provide a double thickness for buttonholes. As heretofore mentioned, it is not readily apparent when the dickey is in the reverse position that it buttons opposite the conventional method of buttoning, that is, the left hand side being received over the right hand side as shown. Thus, the dickey can be reversed with the opposite mode of buttoning becoming undetachable due to the facing 18.

This is more clearly seen in the fragmentary view of FIG. 6 when viewed with FIGS. 2-4. The facing 18, on the opposite sides of the panel, is held thereto by symmetrical stitching at 19 and 20.

If it is desirable to make the yoke of light weight material, straps 34 and 35 can be provided as shown in FIG. 3. The straps 34 and 35 are connected to the yoke or back panel at the lower portion thereof to hold it flat against the wearers back. The straps may be connected to the front panels by buttons, snaps or stitching. It is obvious that the straps may be made of the same material as the shirt or of elastic material. It is also contemplated that a plurality of buttonholes, snap fasteners or other suitable connecting means may be provided so as to make the straps adjustable. In any even, it is important that the straps be connected to the front panels substantially below the shoulder to prevent the straps from cutting under the arms of the wearer. This serves to hold the front panels from lateral shifting, as well as flat against the chest of the wearer.

It is contemplated that a wide variety of materials may be used. This would include the normal cottons, synthetic materials and paper, the latter being in the nature of a disposable garment.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 7, it will be noted that the collar 24 comprises essentially a double thickness of fabric rolled under at its inner ends 38 and 38, and attached to the generally circular neck opening 23 by stitching means.

For ease of description, the principles of this invention have been set forth in connection with but a single illustrated embodiment. It is not intended that the illustrated embodiment, nor the terminology employed in describing it, be limiting inasmuch as variations in these may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Rather, it is desired that the scope of the invention be restricted only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reversible shirt dickey comprising a back panel, two rectangularly elongated front panels which are adapted to substantially cover the chest of the wearer, a

facing adjacent one edge of one of the front panels, said facing being formed of two strips of material fastened to said one edge of each side of said one panel, a plurality of buttonholes extending through said facing thereby to present a uniform appearance on opposite sides of said one panel, the other of said front panels having a plurality of buttons on opposite sides thereof complementary to said buttonholes, yoke means joining said back and front panels and forming a generally circular opening to receive the neck of the wearer, reversible collar means around said opening, said reversible collar means including a double thickness of fabric rolled under and stitched to said generally circular opening, and said yoke being of heavy bodied material and attached to each of said front and back panels along a seam extending from said opening to the outer edge of each of said panels.

2. The shirt dickey of claim 1 wherein elastic stop means joins the lower portion of said yoke to each of said front panels for holding said panels and said yoke against the body of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,144,223 Miles et al June 22, 1915 1,445,364 Steinmitz Feb. 13, 1923 1,768,381 Stewart et al. June 24, 1930 1,975,285 Pearse Oct. 2, 1934 2,174,831 Muller Oct. 3, 1939 2,880,421 Polanco Apr. 7, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 58,938 Austria May 10, 1913 951,815 France Apr. 18, 1949 

1. A REVERSIBLE SHIRT DICKEY COMPRISING A BACK PANEL, TWO RECTANGULARLY ELONGATED FRONT PANELS WHICH ARE ADAPTED TO SUBSTANTIALLY COVER THE CHEST OF THE WEARER, A FACING ADJACENT ONE EDGE OF ONE OF THE FRONT PANELS, SAID FACING BEING FORMED OF TWO STRIPS OF MATERIAL FASTENED TO SAID ONE EDGE OF EACH SIDE OF SAID ONE PANEL, A PLURALITY OF BUTTONHOLES EXTENDING THROUGH SAID FACING THEREBY TO PRESENT A UNIFORM APPEARANCE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ONE PANEL, THE OTHER OF SAID FRONT PANELS HAVING A PLURALITY OF BUTTONS ON OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF COMPLEMENTARY TO SAID BUTTONHOLES, YOKE MEANS JOINING SAID BACK AND FRONT PANELS AND FORMING A GENERALLY CIRCULAR OPENING TO RECEIVE THE NECK OF THE WEARER, REVERSIBLE COLLAR MEANS AROUND SAID OPENING, SAID REVERSIBLE COLLAR MEANS INCLUDING A DOUBLE THICKNESS OF FABRIC ROLLED UNDER AND STITCHED TO SAID GENERALLY CIRCULAR OPENING, AND SAID YOKE BEING OF HEAVY BODIED MATERIAL AND ATTACHED TO EACH OF SAID FRONT AND BACK PANELS ALONG A SEAM EXTENDING FROM SAID OPENING TO THE OUTER EDGE OF EACH OF SAID PANELS. 